Advantage West Midlands has drawn up a shortlist of three potential private sector firms for its plans to set up an innovative Property Regeneration Partnership.
The partnership is expected come into operation in the financial year 07-08 to accelerate the delivery of development projects on selected sites within the RDA’s £160 million property portfolio,
The successful bidder for the tender is expected to be named by mid-February from the short-list of the Manchester-based Igloo Regeneration Fund; the Langtree Group plc joint venture with Bank of Scotland Corporate and St Modwen Properties plc.
The partnership will take over responsibility for the development of eight of Advantage West Midlands development projects including the nine-hectare LDV site in Birmingham. Other development sites include a mixture of inner city regeneration projects and edge-of-town high quality business park opportunities totalling over 130 acres. The partnership will also manage Advantage West Midlands’ portfolio of investment properties consisting of more than 600,000 sq ft of lettable space and bring additional private sector capital, expertise and staff resources to help manage and deliver strategic brownfield sites across the region more quickly.
Kings Sturge and Eversheds are advising Advantage West Midlands and the RDA will retain a 50 per cent interest in the new venture and the new partnership follows other successful initiatives established by One NorthEast, East Midlands Development Agency and most recently the North West Development Agency.
Stuart Kirkwood, development director at Advantage West Midlands, said: “We are delighted to have reached the final bidding stage and to have three such strong candidates vying to become our long term partner.
“We are confident that all three companies have the required skills and track record to be a successful partner and help deliver high quality projects, which will attract new and existing businesses and create or safeguard thousands of jobs across the region in the long term.”
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